After weeks of jury selection, the trial commenced Friday with opening statements and witness testimony began Monday at 9 a.m.

Court administrators estimate the trial could take 18 weeks with testimony Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

An information page created by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, which includes the indictments, is available here.

Kilpatrick, 42, was, Detroit's mayor from 2002 to 2008.

When he took office at age 32, Kilpatrick became Detroit's youngest ever mayor.

Before
Kilpatrick resigned as the city's mayor, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym
Worthy charged the mayor with ten felony counts, including perjury and
obstruction of justice, related to the "text message" scandal.

He was released after 99 day and on May 25, 2010, was sentenced to 18 months to 5 years in prison for violating his probation.

Kilpatrick served the time at the Oaks Correctional Facility in northwest Michigan.

Then came the federal charges.

Along
with father Bernard Kilpatrick, friend and city contractor Bobby
Ferguson and former Detroit water and sewer manager Victor Mercado,
Kwame Kilpatrick faces charges of operating an illegal criminal
enterprise involving extortion, accepting bribes and kickbacks, mail and
wire fraud, contract rigging, obstructing justice and making malicious
threats to extort money, the complaint says.

He was indicted on federal charges on June 23, 2010.

While earning an annual salary ranging from $158,000 to $176,000 as
the mayor of Detroit during his tenure, Kilpatrick
also used other means to enrich his bank account, federal prosecutors say.

He evaded taxes and spent funds raised by the Kwame
Kilpatrick Civic Fund, which operated under the guise of a nonprofit, on
campaigns, rental cars, summer camps for his children, debugging
equipment, birthday parties, gifts to relatives, travel and a crisis
manager, a 19-count indictment against him claims.

Although
the court does not allow cell phones, laptops, video or audio equipment
in the courtroom, reporters are allowed to have laptops in a separate
media room which provides access to a closed circuit TV broadcasting the
trial.

Stay tuned to MLive Detroit for real-time updates of attorney opening statements and testimony during first day of trial.Updates:

12:36 p.m. As Chad Smith, another of Kilpatrick's security team, left the courtroom Kilpatrick seemed to acknowledge the guard and patting his left chest. The judge has called for an end of testimony. The jury has been dismissed. The prosecution said there is a legal issue to discuss. That is it for today. tune in tomorrow for more real-time coverage from the trial.

12:26 p.m. Love is questioned about trips he accompanies the Mayor on. He talks about a 3-day "thank-you" trip to Bermuda. It was a thank you trip to Kwam supporters after his reelection, Love said. He said Ferguson also attended the trip and the guard flew on a private jet owned by Tony Souve. He spoke of another trip taken by Kwame's Chief of Staff Christine Beatty, Souve and Kilpatrick. The spent a day shopping in New York City.12:07 p.m. Dwayne Love, who also worked on the mayor's security detail as a commander for the Detroit Police Department, is speaking about taking a 3-day trip to Bermuda, a celebratory trip paid for by Kwame Kilpatrick to show his gratitude for those who helped him with his reelection.

Love said he believed they flew on a place owned by Tony Souve, the CEO and president of Souve Enterprises.

Souve has claimed he was extorted by the Kilpatrick administration. Ferguson also attended the Bermuda trip. "It started off as a thank-you trip," Love said, "but it was business for me."

He also spoke of a 1-day shopping trip on a jet owned by Souve that Souve, Kilpatrick and Chief of Staff Christine Beatty took to to New York. They returned the same day. 11:33 a.m. James Thomas, Kilpatrick's attorney, said the jury is
going to want to know, "Was there a party at the Manoogian Mansion?" to
which Travis said while chuckling, "no." Judge Edmunds interjected
asking the attorney "move on."

Travis said he considers Kilpatrick "a very hard-working mayor." He said their daily details would sometimes last until 1- or 11 p.m.11:30 a.m. Jefferson Travis, a former Detroit police sgt., is speaking about the services he provided as a member of the Kilpatrick security detail. There have been several questions about Bobby Ferguson, what Travis perceived of and remembers about the relationship. He said it was clear they were friends. The guard said he went on multiple trips with Kilpatrick, including to the 2007 Superbowl. Ferguson was not there, the guard said. He also recollected a trip to Tallahassee, Fla. on a private jet to visit the mayor's former college.

"It was an an honor" working for the mayor, Travis said. "I enjoyed myself and we kept him safe so our mission was complete."

Travis says being mayor of a large city is a dangerous job.11:05 a.m. Ann Dixon testified that Kilpatrick often visited First Independence Bank where he paid cash payments toward a personal loan. She said she did not find this unusual. 10:30 a.m. A lot of Robinson's testimony included going through records and various transactions, payments toward credit debt that Kwame Kilpatrick made to the employee. Not a lot of juicy details, just laying out the pattern it seems.

10 a.m. The second witness is Jerome Robinson, an employee at First Independent Bank. He said he saw Kilpatrick 1-2 times per month when the then-mayor came in to pay cash, about $3,000 per visit in $100 bills, toward his credit card, which Robinson said is "not unusual."9:45 a.m. Thomas referenced a stash of cash discovered in a shoe in Kilpatrick's closet by investigator.

The money Kwame and Carlita saved could be deposited in a bank, stored under a mattress or “could be accumulated in a shoe,” could it not? Thomas asked.

“Depending on the size of the show,” Saur responded.

9:40 a.m. After finally getting into the courthouse, it appears an Internal Revenue Service employee, Ron Sauer, is the first to hit the witness stand. He is being questioned by Kwame Kilpatrick's attorney James Thomas about information collected by the IRS while investigating Kilpatrick. He says that Kwame Kilpatrick and his wife Carlita Kilpatrick earned greater than $100,000 each from 1996 to 2000 and based on that income and their other expenditures it is reasonable that they would have saved money and grew their cash reserves or bank accounts.

8:50 a.m. Upon arrival at the federal courthouse, a line of people, nearly a hundred, is seen along the north wall leading to the entrance. After waiting in line for about 20 minutes, a security employee says that these people are here for a naturalization and immigration swearing-in ceremony. It takes longer than a half hour to enter the courthouse. These ceremonies take place each Monday and Thursday. There is a second entrance to the courthouse used by attorneys at the south end of the building, but it isn't open to the general public until after 9:30 a.m. Several reporters said this caused them delays getting into court today.